


Stark White, Skye Blue

by anotherdayofdaisy



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, M/M, Multi, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-04-16 10:52:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 10,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14163243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anotherdayofdaisy/pseuds/anotherdayofdaisy
Summary: When Skye ends up in the hands of the group she's been trying to avoid so desperately, what will happen? And how does it connect to her soulmates?





	1. Families and Farewells

**Author's Note:**

> The chapters are really short because I have a tiny attention span so... sorry.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye leaves her family, and realizes she probably should have thought out her plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story uses the soulmate trope, which was created by Ozhawk, so that wasn't an original idea. I also don't own anything relating to Agents of Shield or Avengers, that's all Marvel. Besides that, enjoy!

**Skye POV**

She could see him in her cell. All she wanted to do was run to him. To stop him from doing something he would regret, but she couldn’t move.

“Coulson PLEASE!” she screamed, trying to get his attention. He ignored her, looking condescendingly at her through the glass that separated them. Running his hand through his hair, a sigh escaped his lips.

“I’m sorry Skye, we just can’t let you hurt anyone else.”

“Please! I’ll do better! I promise! Please you’re the only family I have left.” She said, looking defeated. She could feel a tear run down her face.

“We loved you.” She couldn’t help but realize the d that had turned the word she so desperately wanted to hear, into a word she wished didn’t exist. Her eyes looked back to him, his hand pushing a button hidden by the grey walls. Gas filled her room, and suddenly she was choking. Desperately, she sucked in air that didn’t exist anymore, trying to see him, as if eye contact would make him realize that she was just like him. But it didn’t. And, slowly, her world blurred until all that was left was she and her thoughts. But now those were gone as well.  
===

Skye jerked out of bed by the feeling of cold hands on her shoulders.

“Skye, you need to stop. You’re going to bring this plane down” May looked at her, eyes laced with fear and shock.

She didn’t know what was happening. “What?” she whispered.

“Skye you’re making the plane shake. I need you to follow my breathing. Breathe in” she waited a couple seconds “and out.”

She tried to follow, she really did, but all she could think about was her nightmare. “Where’s Coulson?” she asked, shakily.

“We can get him in a second, just follow my breath-“

“No I need him. Now.” She interrupted May, determined. At that moment, Coulson jogged down the stairs, looking scared.

“Skye, what’s happening?” He sounded out of breath, but she couldn’t worry about that now.

“I just needed to see you.” Skye took a breath, then stuck her hand out at May, hoping that her powers would do what she wanted. They did.

The vibrations pushed May and Coulson out of her cell, giving her time to find the control panel. Skye ran over to it, pushing a red button before jumping into the pod and sealing the door. They looked at her with a mix of sympathy and horror.

“Skye what are you doing? We can fix this!” Coulson screamed, with tears in his eyes.

“Coulson, I have to do this. If I don’t then I could kill all of you. I won’t take that risk.” Skye’s face was soaking wet with her tears, as she viciously typed something onto the screen and the pod shot out of the plane.

She hadn’t thought this through very well, and had turned off the parachute so that Coulson wouldn’t follow her. That was probably a bad idea. Her body flew from one side of the pod to the next, bouncing around like each side was a catapult. But it wasn’t. It was hard metal.

At some point she just accepted what was happening, and calmed herself down as much as she could. Then the pod hit the ground.

Skye tried to stand, but her legs felt like they were made of slime, and she collapsed onto the ground. Her eyelids felt like they had 2-ton weights on them, so eventually, she succumbed to the inevitable and faded into darkness.


	2. Hello?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Steve finds what he's sure is a UFO, his only hope is that there are aliens inside.

** Steve POV **

Steve really didn’t know what to think when he saw a metal pod fly out of the sky and crash into the land near him. He had seen a couple weird things in this time, and nothing should really surprise him at this point, but it did.

He stared at the crash site for a second, before picking up his phone.

“Yes, Steve? What do you want?”

“Hey Nat. I. um… well, there’s a-“

“Spit it out Steve, I don’t have all day.”

“Well something just flew out of the sky and I don’t know what it is but I don’t think its-“

“On my way. Do we need to get Bruce ready?”

“I don’t think-“ He had made his way over to the crashed pod and peered into the dirt-ridden window. “Oh my god. Nat, you still there?”

“Yeah what is it?”

“There’s a girl in here. We’re going to need Bruce asap.” Steve inhaled sharply when he saw her. There was blood everywhere, and she looked like she had gotten thrown around quite a lot, but she was… beautiful? Yes, he decided, beautiful.

“Like a kid?” Natasha’s voice brought him out of his trance.

“Maybe like early 20’s” Steve didn’t know why he felt drawn to the girl, but he did. “I need you he-“ A low beep made Steve look at his phone to see that she had hung up. He sighed.

“Miss me already?” Steve flipped around to see Nat staring back at him surrounded by Bruce and Clint.

“We don’t have time to joke around let's get her out of this.” He demanded, rushing to the door of the pod.

“I tried it before we found you, Steve, it’s not going to ope- “The sound of Steve ripping the door made Clint stop talking and move to help Bruce roll the stretcher over. “Can we just take her to Avengers tower? We don’t even know who she is! Let's just move her to a hospital and leave.”

“Guys.” Bruce interrupted them and they turned towards him. “She’s S.H.I.E.L.D” He held a badge up so they could see, reading off the name. “Skye…” There was a silence and he flipped around the card a couple of times before speaking again. “Just Skye… no last name.”

“That’s weird,” Clint commented, staring at the girl who laid in front of him.

“Here’s something else,” Natasha announced, grabbing the badge from Bruce. “She’s gifted.”

“What’s gifted?” Steve questioned, looking around him.

“She has… powers…” Clint explained, turning back to Natasha. “Do we know what kind?”

“What kind of what?” Steve asked again, this time getting no response.

“Inhuman,” Nat replied nonchalantly.

“Inhuman?” Clint repeated.

“Inhuman.”

“WHAT IS AN INHUMAN?” Steve raised his voice, trying to get his point across.

Bruce turned and walked closer to him, beginning to talk as if he was a child. “Someone who has come in contact with a…” He glanced to Nat for help.

“Mist.” Nat supplied.

“Mist.” He continued. “This… mist changes their DNA so that they have new… abilities…” Steve nodded.

“Like what?”

“Well… anything really. I once came across someone who could manipulate the elements… or someone who could control minds… it’s really a wide variety…”

“Codename… Quake?” Natasha continued to read the badge.

“So, she can create earthquakes?” Clint asked.

“I assume so, genius.” Nat flicked his forehead.

“Is she on the Index?” Bruce asked, the gravity of what taking this girl in setting in on him.

“I dunno, we can check at the tower,” Clint responded, shrugging. “Now let’s get going, or Tony’s gonna start questioning our absence.”

After they had loaded her onto the Quinjet, Steve looked down upon the girl… no, woman, below him. “We’ll help you I promise.” He whispered. At that moment he really didn’t care about anything else. The last time he had felt this way had been with Peggy, but that hadn’t had time to grow. He just hoped this stranger would like him too.


	3. $19,152,112,131,205

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye wakes up in what seems like a hospital, and bolts, worried that her team will find her.

**Skye POV**

Skye opened her eyes to blinding light, surrounded by tubes and beeping sounds. She blinked a couple times before looking down at her arms to see that they had tubes and wires stuck into them. She quietly pulled each needle out one by one, slowly moving over towards the door. The one thing that couldn’t happen was her ending up in a hospital. It would send her team following her and then she would hurt them again.

Her hand grasped the door handle, turning it and opening the door. Part of her wanted to turn back and find her team, but she couldn’t. You could kill them, Skye. You can’t be selfish like this. She went to rub her hand through her hair, but instead felt bandages. Quickly, tearing them off, she ran to find the nearest exit, but instead found a staircase. She desperately grasped the railing and rushed down the first flight of stairs, but while on the second flight, her wrist was grasped and she was pulled back.

“Look Doc, I don’t have time for this. I can cover the cost later, just send me the details. Now, thanks and goodbye.” She could hear a quiet gasp from the person behind her, and she used that moment to push away from them and rush down the next set of stairs. But, like before, just as she turned the corner, a hand reached around her middle and pulled her backwards, towards whoever stood behind her.

“Ma’am, I don’t think I am who you think I am.” Skye shook her head. This person couldn’t be her soulmate. It wasn’t possible. Right?  
She flipped around to face the man, and found herself looking up at him, as he was considerably taller than her. “You’re… wait… I… um… you’re Captain America….”

“It’s Steve.”

“Oh, um ok… are you… are you who I think you are…?” She hoped he wasn’t her soulmate. She couldn’t let him down when she revealed her two soulmarks. What if he didn’t have two? She couldn’t disappoint more people.

“Captain America or your soulmate.” Skye audibly gasped and took a step back, but her foot missed the solid ground and she instead tripped backward until... he caught her? “Easy there. Don’t hurt yourself more.”

“I’m sorry, I… I really like you… it’s just… I don’t want to hurt you.” Skye stammered. She not only had powers, but also two soulmarks. She didn’t want him to care for her and, well maybe she didn’t want to open herself up again.

“Hurt me? Doll, I’m sure you can’t hurt me.”

“Yes. I can. PLEASE just trust what I’m telling you. You don’t want to have a relationship with someone like me.”

“Why? What in the world makes you think that I wouldn’t want you?”

“I’m messed up. I’ve been hurt more times than I can count, so I’m not an open book. At all.”

“So?” Steve questioned. “I’ve been hurt too.”

“I have powers. I can make things move and I can’t control it. If I use it I could kill everyone in this building, including you.”

“Tony put so much money into this tower, I doubt he wouldn’t put anti-earthquake measures in place.” Skye’s mind flashed back to a Tony she knew, but put those memories behind her, because that was where their relationship was as well.

“Just leave me ALONE. I don’t want to hurt you like I’ve hurt everyone else.” Skye whispered the last part, but she was pretty sure he heard her anyway.

“Doll, please just give me a chance I can-“

“No, it has nothing to do with you, you’re perfect. That’s why I can’t stay here.”

“I’m far from perfect. Are you going to tell me the real reason or do I have to pry it out of you?” he looked determined.

“It’s just… well… I have two soulmarks.” She looked at the floor with shame, but didn’t expect the answer he gave.

“Me too.”

“What?!”

“Yea. Please just… give me… give us a chance.”

Skye was about to refuse, but looked into his eyes and saw something magical. He cupped her face with his warm hands and, slowly, she nodded. Before she knew what was happening, he had lifted her up and into his arms.


	4. Shakes like Teen Spirit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky meets someone he's been waiting his whole life for, and then realizes she's a lot stronger than she looks.

**Bucky POV**

When Bucky had first met Steve, they both were unmarked. He knew that he felt something for Steve, and Steve for him, but they didn’t really know what it was. Then, when Steve had found him and he had become James Buchanan Barnes again, he had two marks, and realized what Steve and he had felt: love. So, he felt bliss for months after that, but then he got to thinking about his other soulmark. The writing was loopy and feminine, and Steve’s second mark had the same, leading them to assume it was the same person. He and Steve spent time looking for her, but they had never found anything, and eventually gave up.

His first thought when Jarvis told him that Steve “requested his presence”, was a mission. He had other thoughts after that, but he categorized them in the section he marked as "Horny Teenager". All those included, he had never even imagined when ended up happening.

When the elevator doors opened on the medical floor, Bucky wondered if he had pressed the wrong button. Then, as Steve rushed around the corner, he pushed that suspicion aside and went to embrace his soulmate.

“What happened? Is Nat ok? Did someone get hurt? Why are we-" His questioning was cut off as Steve ushered him over to a room marked 421. Inside was a brunette with sunlit olive skin and dark brown eyes. He looked at Steve with confusion, but instead, he found his soulmate looking through the window with a goofy smile on his face. Bucky opened the door and stepped inside, deciding to face his questions head-on.

“Oh good, someone’s in here. Do you mind telling Steve to either come in or stop staring at me? He’s been like that for 20 minutes and it’s a bit creepy. I get he’s my soulmate and all, but honestly.” She looked confused at Bucky’s shocked face, so he spoke up.

“I’ll probably be doing that in 10 minutes as well.” She took a breath in, and stared at him, before suddenly she started crying hysterically. At the same time, the ground shook. Steve rushed into the room and ran over the girl’s bedside.

“Skye. Skye, you can do this, you can control this I’m here now. I believe in you.” Bucky didn’t understand what Steve meant by “control” but now he knew that the girl’s name was Skye.

“Steve just sedate me. I can hurt you-" she looked over to Bucky “you both. I can hurt you both. Please.”

Glancing at Steve, all he saw was the immense sympathy and compassion, but that’s not what Skye needed now. She needed the truth. “Skye, if we were afraid of you hurting us, would we still be in the room?” She looked slightly relieved, and suddenly, the shaking dulled to a low hum, and finally stopped altogether. Steve reached over and clasped her hands in his, and Skye broke away and grabbed one of Bucky’s hands as well.

“I need to control this, or at least learn to. I know it’s early, and we just met, but I think I want to do that here.” Steve smiled, and Bucky felt like he was finally complete.

“Want us to send in Bruce?” Bucky offered.

“That sounds great, thanks.” She smiled, and he gave her hands a squeeze before letting go and walking out. Steve looked reluctant, but followed him out as well.

They watched her talk to Bruce for an hour, waiting anxiously to go talk to her again. As the doctor walked out of her room, they rushed inside. Steve bombarded her with questions, while Bucky watched him curiously.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and Bucky went to open it. “Hi Tony, what is it?”

“There was an earthquake.”

“Yeah. I know. That happens naturally, Tony. Why are you here? Is the earthquake shelter up here, because if so, that was really dumb placement.” Bucky was impatient to get back to his soulmates.

“Well, imagine my surprise when Jarvis tells me that the earthquake originated from a patient in the medical ward.” Bucky could feel his face becoming red, but Tony continued on.

“I want to see them.”

“Tony do you think that’s really-“

“I wasn’t asking permission, I was telling you this as a courtesy. Now move.” He pushed past Bucky and opened the door, only to stop in his tracks and turn pale. He could hear Skye gasp in front of him, drawing his attention to her. She too was very, very pale. Finally, someone spoke.

“Skye?” Tony murmured, almost as if he spoke too loudly the room would crumble.

“Dad?”


	5. Revisiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye's soulmates try to reason with her dad, but when it's taken too far, she has to step in.

**Skye POV**

She desperately grabbed at the sheets, trying to pull them over her head and hide. What had she done? She should have left the tower when her gut told her to.

“I thought you were dead.” Her dad looked like he had seen a ghost, because he probably thought he had. “You LET me think you were DEAD!” he was angry now, and she didn’t blame him. She went to speak, but he continued. “You left in the middle of the night, and I NEVER heard from you!”

“Dad I-“ She started, but he interrupted her again.

“Yes. Go on, explain to me why my 16-year-old daughter left, never called me, and then shows up in MY building 10 years later. I’d love to hear this story.” She looked to Steve and Bucky trying to get them to help her, but they stared back at her with shock.

She should have known that her Dad would find her at some point – even if he didn’t mean to. Her eyes met his, pleading him to stop, to not expose everything she had erased from her past.

He looked away from her, to Steve and Bucky, “I want her out of my tower. Now.” He stormed out, with Steve screaming after him.

“TONY that’s not fair. She’s your daughter you can’t just throw her out!” her dad ignored him, causing Bucky to follow Steve into the corridor. Now she was alone.

She could hear the thundering footsteps of her soulmates as the sprinted down the hallway. Then, the footsteps stopped. Skye assumed that they had cornered her dad, and now they had no choice but to talk. As she heard the screaming, her suspicions were confirmed.

“You throw her out, we walk.” Bucky threatened.

“I’m quite alright with that.” Her father countered. Skye listened to their banter for 5 minutes before she realized that it wasn’t going to stop unless she did something.

She heaved herself out of bed, surprised by how much harder it was now than when she had tried to run away. As she stood up, her body tried to collapse, but with her flailing arms, she caught onto her IV drip pole and used it as a cane. Slowly, but surely, she moved to the door and pushed it open with her free hand.

Skye trudged along the hallway until she saw her soulmates and her father. They made eye contact, and she saw his eyes glance from Steve to her.

Steve's eyes followed Tony's gaze. “Skye what the hell are you doing out of bed?!” he demanded.

Bucky looked at him with a smirk before murmuring, “language.” Receiving a glare from Steve. He turned back to her. “Doll, you need to go back into your room and let us handle this.”

Skye looked at him and sighed. “I have to get out of here anyway, might as well be doing something useful.” She glanced around the room to take in their expressions, but was shocked by what she saw: her father looked… _worried_?

She continued walking towards the elevator, passing Steve and Bucky who stood, wide-eyed, staring at her. She was frozen in place when her dad spoke, “Skye I didn- “

Skye cut him off, “No, Tony. I know exactly what you meant.” She could hear his sigh at her use of his first name, but she didn’t care. She was almost past him when her feet caught in the long IV line, and she tripped, falling face first towards the ground. She braced herself until… she wasn’t falling anymore?

Her head turned to the person who had caught her, and she looked her father straight in his eyes. She thought he would steady her and send her on her way, but instead, he pulled her into his arms.

“Skye I’m so sorry. I got so caught up in how much I missed you, that I didn’t think about the fact that you’re here now.” Skye teared up.

“I love you, Dad.”

“I love you too, Blue.” Suddenly, he glanced up beyond her and she felt herself being lifted upward until her chocolate brown met Steve’s bright blue eyes.

She looked sheepishly at him, “Hi.” He smiled at her, finally carrying her and setting her in the bed once more. Bucky bent down to kiss her forehead, and she felt like she belonged somewhere. For once, she wondered if maybe, this would work out.


	6. I know him...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye realizes why Bucky looked so familiar...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's a long flashback scene towards the end of this chapter, the beginning, and end of it are marked with a ~, and the scene itself is also in italics  
> Enjoy!

**Skye POV**

She rested her head against Steve’s arm as Bucky stood across from him, holding her hand. The captain’s arm shifted as he leaned over to whisper something to the other man. He looked down at Skye, nodded, and disappeared out of the room.

Seconds later, he reappeared in front of her window, talking to Bruce. They occasionally glanced at her, their faces grim. Eventually, Dr. Banner lifted his hand in front of Bucky, his mouth moving as he lifted each finger slowly. Skye realized he was counting something.

Her soulmate looked back at her, his face sewed with worry. He lifted his hands and put them on top of his head, something Skye had come to realize was his way of dealing with stress. That, and punching things. Punching a lot of things.

She caught a reflection of light off something on Bucky’s arm, worrying her for a second before she realized it was probably a watch. Either way, her eyes remained fixated on his arm.

That was, until, his arm moved to press against Bruce’s shoulder, pushing him back. The doctor looked back at Bucky with shock, until he punched the younger man in his face. Skye gasped, and Steve followed her gaze. She looked up at him as he rolled his eyes and ran out of the room, her eyes moving back to Bucky. Their brief argument had become an all-out brawl, with her soulmates right in the middle. Steve pushed Bucky away, before grabbing his arm and pulling him aside. The other man resisted, causing the captain to grab him by the arm again, roughly, dragging him away this time. In all the turmoil, Steve’s super-strength had ripped Bucky’s shirt sleeve off, leaving him an awkward looking “half up half down” look. But also, an exposed arm.

A metal exposed arm. Her breathing sped up, thinking back to the last time she had seen an arm like that. But it couldn’t be. It couldn’t be, right?

~~~~

_Skye sat, bound to a chair in front of Whitehall, two guards beside her._

_Where could she possibly go? How could she escape? Was her team even coming to get her?_

_His beady eyes looked at her, smiling when he saw the damage that his men had done. “Are you ready to tell us the coordinates now, or must we continue to make you cooperate?”_

_Skye hated that word. Cooperate. She sighed, realizing what must be done._

_He bent down, staring at her, “What’ll it be, sweetheart.” Skye gagged, trying to hold back her lunch that threatened to overflow onto the man. Would that be so bad though?_

_“Never.” She told him, her voice trying to mask the fear manifesting itself in her stomach._

_“Ah. I hoped you would say that.” She glared at him. If looks could kill, well, then she’d be responsible for mass murder._

_He stood up, craning his neck to look away from her. “GUARDS! Bring in the soldier.” Her heart rate picked up. She hoped he wouldn’t be as bad as she imagined, but no one called “the soldier” could ever be a nice person._

_On cue, a man walked in. His hair looked like it hadn’t been cut in a while, and he had a mask covering half his face. If those hadn’t been red flags to her, though, his metal arm certainly was._

_His eyes were glazed over, and his posture looked perfect._

_The perfect soldier._

_“Soldier?” Whitehall started, the unknown man turning to face him. “Do I need guards in here, or can you handle her on your own?”_

_The man glanced at her before turning to him, “I know my orders.”_

_Whitehall grinned. “Perfect.” He made hand motions towards the guards before he left the room, the remaining guards following him._

_That left just the man, and her._

_Skye wanted to say something. To make a snarky comment or a joke, but nothing came to mind. They had broken her._

_No. She wasn’t broken. Not yet, not ever. She just needed to focus. Pick up any hints as to where exactly she was._

_Looking towards the man, she saw he had gone over to a corner, a set of squeaky wheels informing her that this was most likely torture. But, she had dealt with this before. She just needed to distract herself._

_Her head tilted up, focusing on a small crack in a dim corner next to her. Just focus on the crack, Skye. Just. Focus. On. The. Ceiling._

_She let out a scream as a knife plunged into her leg. She wanted to look down. She wanted her team. She wanted to be home._

_FOCUS SKYE._

_She blinked, slowly, staring back at the crack. The knife plunged into her other leg. And her arm. And her shoulder._

_So, this was what torture felt like._

_Skye thought to the present, trying to draw her mind out of the nightmare that was her past._

_The world was dark and ominous with her eyes closed, Skye thought, but trying to open them felt too hard, so they stayed closed._

_And the world remained ominous._

_And life remained dark._

~~~~


	7. Closeted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky has a revelation, Skye's memories cause some medical issues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *** This isn’t the conflict of the story, I just think every relationship doesn’t start perfect, and I wanted to make sure every chapter influences the story ***

**Bucky POV**

“Can we leave now? It smells like…” He sniffed dramatically, “disinfectant.”

After the fight, Steve had pulled him into a supply closet, saying he wanted to “talk”. Then, he had gone on to lecture him about the fact that “because he had soulmates, he couldn’t go around getting into fights.” Bucky had rolled his eyes and agreed with Steve, knowing that he most likely would sleep in the closet if he tried to argue.

“Buck?” Steve’s deep voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

“Hmm?”

“Do you need another shirt?” Bucky looked at Steve questioningly before glancing at his arm.

“Oh shit.” He hadn’t realized that his sleeve was ripped, and he didn’t think Skye had seen that part of him yet.

“Langu- “

“Don’t even go there.” Bucky threatened, glaring at his soulmate. “To answer your question, yes, I am going to need a new shirt.”

Steve put his hand on the doorknob, turning it, before looking back. “After you get the shirt, we apologize to Dr. Banner, ok?” He looked at Bucky like he was a child that had refused to share with someone. Bucky nodded, hurriedly.

So, they made their way up the elevator, and into their shared apartment, to the dresser, with everything quiet. Too quiet, for Bucky’s taste.

Ignoring his worries, he pulled the old shirt off his head and threw it behind him, not caring where it landed.

He reached inside the wooden drawer, searching for the long sleeve navy one that Steve had recommended (apparently Navy was Skye’s favorite color), and taking it out. Bucky pulled it over his head, carefully tugging the fabric over the different ridges on his arm. Once he had finished, and the shirt was comfortably hanging off his body, he walked back into the living room where Steve had been waiting.

“Ready, Buck?” He looked at Bucky with a smile.

“Is this the one you were talking about?” Bucky asked, referring to his shirt.

“Yep. She’ll love it.” They held hands, walking towards the elevator, smiling. He had everything. Both his soulmates, friendships, and somewhere he belonged. He hadn’t felt this way since the war, and even then, he hadn’t had love. It felt amazing.

“Captain Rogers and Mr. Barnes, Dr. Banner is requesting your presence downstairs.” A British voice announced over the intercom.

“JARVIS, tell him that if he’s going to be butthurt about almost getting beat up, I just won’t apologize at all.” Bucky said, chuckling to himself.

“Mr. Barnes, he says it is about Miss Skye.”

Bucky and Steve glanced at each other, worriedly. “Did she ask for us?” Steve questioned, hoping she had and that it wasn’t something else.

“Dr. Banner says that she is having a seizure.” As soon as JARVIS had uttered that word, they sprinted down the stairs as fast as they could. Their apartment was on the sixth floor, and, since the medical ward was on the fourth, they could run there faster than if they took the elevator.

Bucky vaulted over the railing, landing on the next flight of stairs, while Steve darted past him like a teenager late for school. When they had finally reached the medical ward, both men pushed nurses and doctors out of their way, so desperate to see their soulmate that they didn’t notice the slight shaking of the floor.

“SKYE, I NEED YOU TO WAKE UP!” A voice echoed down the hallway. As they rounded the hallway, it was clear that the voice had been Bruce’s.

“What happened?!” Steve glared at a very shocked looking nurse.

“I… I don’t… I wasn’t… I….” She stuttered, looking everywhere except at Steve.

“Stevie, leave her alone, getting mad isn’t going to help Skye.” Bucky grasped the other man’s shoulder, steering him towards the room they dreaded.

“Bruce, what's going on?” He questioned, trying to stay calm and not explode like Steve had.

“I don’t know, a nurse notified me that her heart rate had increased and then she started seizing and- “

A moan from Skye cut him off as all attention was turned back to her. “Buck…please… don’t hurt me i…no please…no, please…Steve?... Bucky, don’t hurt him! This isn’t you… please don’t hurt hi-“ The ground shook violently, as Bucky stepped back, horrified.

He knew he had recognized Skye. He had tortured her. His own SOULMATE.

No Bucky, it wasn’t you, it was him. It was the Winter Soldier. It was the Soldier.

 

But you ARE the soldier.


	8. Please tell me you're joking....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye accidentally lets some of her past slip, Bucky, Steve, and Tony are ready to go on a manhunt.

** Steve POV **

He really didn’t know what to do. Bucky had backed out of the room, and Skye’s body lurched every second. For a minute, he’d felt perfect, and then this happened.

Steve hesitantly followed Bucky to the hallway, hoping to find out what was bothering him.

“She’ll be alright, Buck, I hope you know that.” Steve put his hand on his soulmate’s shoulder.

“It’s not that.” He looked like every hope had been drained out of him, and Steve was worried.

“Then what is it?”

“I… I hurt her Steve.” He stuttered, looking up guiltily. Steve looked confused, and Bucky elaborated. “Hydra, they got her and she wouldn’t give up information so they… they brought me in.”

“Oh God, Bucky. I’m so sorry.” He pressed his lips to the man’s shaved head, and reached his arms around his torso. “You have to understand that that wasn’t you.”

Bucky pulled out of his arms. “But it was me, Stevie.”

There was an awkward moment of quiet before a strangled scream from the room behind them interrupted their thoughts.

“STEVE, BUCKY GET IN HERE.” Demanded Bruce, trying to hold down a very upset Skye.

“Skye its ok, we’re here now. Skye, I need you to look at me, that’s it, good job.” Bucky gently held down Skye’s shoulders to keep her from bolting out of bed. Suddenly, she seemed to realize the same man who was holding her, had also been torturing her a few moments ago.

“no… no no no, please don’t hurt me, please I’ll do anything just don’t hurt me…” She looked at him with fear, desperately trying to get away.

Steve stepped in for Bucky, who looked like he had just been slapped. “Skye that wasn’t him, he was brainwashed. Remember? We talked about this earlier.”

“Oh my god. Buck I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. I just-" sobs took over her as she pushed into the corner of her bed and put her head on her knees.

“Doll, its ok. I’m so sorry I didn’t remember sooner.” Both men took steps towards Skye, reaching their arms around her shoulders and midsection, pulling her close. The two held her in their arms as her crying grew quieter, and finally stopped all together. The silence was peaceful and, for a while, the whole world disappeared.

“So, what do we do now?” Skye whispered, looking up at her soulmates.

“I think we should talk.” Steve glanced at Bucky, who nodded his approval.

“About what?” She asked, moving their arms tighter around her body.

“Well,” Bucky started, “We don’t know anything about you! City you grew up in? Any embarrassing school stories? Weird boyfriends? Ever gotten shot?” He added the last one with a laugh.

“Once.” Skye murmured.

Steve looked at her with shock, “Skye, please tell me you were joking.”

“It was me being stupid, nothing to worry about.” She shook her head, dismissively.

What she hadn’t noticed, however, was that her hands had compulsively moved to cover an area on her torso, the exact area she’d been shot.

Steve knew what she was doing. It was exactly what Bucky did when he didn’t want him to see something. “Skye, show me.”

“Steve, it doesn’t matter, just let it be.”

“It matters to me.”

“Me too.” Bucky added.

“You can’t even see it!” She lied.

Steve knew that she wasn’t going to show them, and if they were ever going to get to know each other, he’d have to see it. He looked to Bucky, who, he could tell, was thinking the same thing.

In one swift motion, he sat up, turned around, and lifted the top of Skye’s shirt just enough so that they could see the bullet scar, but nothing else.

“Jesus Christ, Doll, that doesn’t look like nothing.” Bucky commented, looking at her sympathetically.

“Tell us what happened, Skye. We want to help.” Steve said softly.

Skye understood that they were her soulmates, and that eventually they would know everything, so she saw no reason to not tell them. She started with the train mission, how she and Fitz had been separated from the group and went to track down Quinn. She outlined walking into the house, finding Mike in the basement, having Quinn pull a gun on her, and the feeling of the bullet penetrating her skin. By the end, she was in tears.

Somehow, when Steve wasn’t looking, Tony had come in, and, staring at him now, he realized that Skye telling him who had shot her wasn’t the greatest idea.

“I swear to God if that man ever steps foot in front of a street camera ever again, I will track him down and make him wish he was never born.” Tony roared, pounding his fist against the bed frame.

“Dad take a breath” Skye commented, looking around the room to see the mixed reactions.

“No, he’s right.” Steve commented, and Bucky looked like he agreed.

“Can we just leave it? It’s not like he kidnapped me or something. That was Ward.” Steve audibly growled, and Bucky looked like he was going to punch someone, most likely Tony.

She, again, explained what had happened, which, again, ended with everyone wanting to kill Ward.

Skye was tired of people treating her like she was a sad puppy that needed help. All she wanted was someone to realize that no one needed to take care of her, that she could take care of herself.

“Can you all just leave?” Skye interrupted their hushed conversations as they looked at her.

“What?” Bucky questioned, looking around to understand if Steve or Tony had understood what she meant.

“Can you get out?” She repeated, more forcefully this time.

“Skye, we can’t just leave you in here alone.” Bucky cautioned. She looked to Steve, her eyes pleading, as Tony whispered something to Buck.

“Guys let’s just give her five minutes.” Steve directed, understanding what she had wanted.

“Steve?” Skye murmured.

“What is it Doll?”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime.” He smiled and walked out of the room, leaving Skye alone.


	9. Team

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y’all! I know it’s been a while, but I have returned! My WiFi connection to Ao3 is hit or miss, so if you want something more regularly updated, this story is also on my fanfiction.net account under the same title.  
> Okie, bye for now, be back soon!  
> —L

Skye awoke to loud voices outside her "hospital" room. Her head was pounding, but she ignored it and tried to hear the conversation.

"FOR GOD'S SAKE, STEVE!" Her father's voice echoed through the sterile hallway outside her window. "SHE'S MY DAUGHTER."

"Tony, she asked me for some alone time, that's what I'm giving her. We need to respect her choices if she's going to stay here." Steve tried to reason with him, but failed.

"I'M GOING IN THERE AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME."

"We both know that's not true." He countered.

Skye reached over to press the assistance button, hoping that at least one person who responded could get her unruly family to stop their bickering. As three nurses rushed through the door, she could hear Tony and Steve's muffled worry, and their final decision to follow them into her room.

"Doll, what's wrong?" Steve asked her, rushing forward to grasp her hand. Tony moved forward as well, pushing Steve away and holding her other hand.

"I… I missed you." She lied. Skye couldn't bear to tell them that she had worried them for some stupid pain in her head.

"How's your head, Blue?" Her father looked at her sympathetically.

"Its fine."

"You want anything?" Steve waited for her response, but instead of words, her stomach rumbled. He chuckled. "Food?"

Skye pushed herself out of bed and swung her legs onto the floor. Quickly, she stood up and took a couple steps, but not before she was grabbed by Steve.

"I'll get it." She told him, leaning away from his grip.

"Skye. We both know that's not going to happen."

"I'll get it, Steve."

"Doll, just let us help you."

"I. CAN. GET. IT." She insisted, using all her strength to speed walk out of the room.

Steve and Tony looked at where she had been, shocked by how fast she was.

"I'm going to go talk to Bruce, see when she can get out of here." Tony nodded his consent.

"If she keeps leaving, I swear to God I'm going to build handcuffs and attach her to me." Steve chuckled, not realizing he was dead serious.

Skye felt bad for running from Steve. She knew it was dumb and that he'd be worried, but she couldn't be on bed rest anymore.

She missed Coulson. She missed how he was like her real dad, how he had Lola and worked on her whenever he could.

She missed May. She missed how badass she was and how she was secretly such a mom. She missed their late night drunken babbles after missions.

She missed Simmons. She would understand what had been happening, she would understand why she couldn't tell them.

She missed Fitz. She missed how he hadn't cared when she got powers. How he covered for her. She missed their late-night Doctor Who marathons and her dumb schemes to get Fitz and Simmons together.

Skye held in her tears until they threatened to explode. Her hands blindly reached for a door handle and found one to her left, hastily pulling it open and running inside. Her back sunk against the wall as the door swung closed, and she let everything out.

===

Steve found Bruce in the science lab, as per usual. He was looking at something under a microscope, and Steve wondered if he should bother him, but realized that Bruce would want to help.

"Hey, Steve." The other man's voice startled him out of his deliberation. "What do you need?"

"I was wondering when Skye can get out of the medical ward and... uhm... well I wanted to…"

"You wanted me to bring up her SHIELD files?"

"Yea…" Steve felt guilty, but needed to know some things that he felt Skye probably wouldn't tell him. Bruce walked over to a computer and typed her name into a search bar. He stopped after writing her first name.

"Do you know her middle name?" He asked, turning to Steve.

"I don't." He looked up towards the ceiling, and called out to the AI. "JARVIS? Do you know what Skye's middle name is?"

"Ms. Stark's full name is Skye Daisy Stark."

"Thanks."

"You are welcome, Captain Rogers."

"Jesus Christ." Bruce's voice caught Steve's attention, causing him to turn around.

"What?"


	10. I can go the distance...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Skye bond, and Steve realizes he doesn't know his soulmate as well as he thought...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey fam squad! I have returned! Its my last week of school, which means I'm almost out for the summer. Because of this one of two things will happen to the story: I will either completely lack to post, or post a TON. I'll try to post a lot, but my plans might fall through.
> 
> Anyways, other note: I've added canon divergence to the tags because Skye has some hidden things that are hinted at in this chapter, but not fully explored. If this completely ruins the story for you, sorry... i guess? I'm REALLY bad at writing fluff, so most of these chapters will be conflict based, or cute romance things that happen for a reason.  
> Anyways, enjoy!  
> \--L

The last place Bucky had thought to look for Skye was in the storage closet. But, when he heard muffled sobbing past the door, his thoughts were proved wrong.  
He swung the door open to find his soulmate, his beautiful Skye, pushed up against a corner sobbing into her ripped hospital gown.  
“Doll?” He questioned tentatively, receiving only sniffles in response. “Skye?” He asked again. 

No response. 

Bucky walked over to the huddled figure, scooping her into his arms and sitting back down in the corner. She was as light as a feather.  
He pressed his lips to her forehead.

“I just wanted to get my own food.” She murmured. “Steve wouldn’t let me.”

Bucky rubbed his calloused hand over her cheek, pushing her hair out of her face.

“Bucky?”

“mhmm?”

“I’m cold.” 

“JARVIS?” He called to the ceiling. 

“Yes Mr. Barnes?” 

“Is anyone in the outside hallways?”

“It seems there is no one in the surrounding hallways, Mr. Barnes.”

Bucky stood up, Skye still in his arms, and tediously walked the path to the elevator. Once inside, he clicked the button for the 7th floor, and waited patiently for JARVIS to take them up. 

=

“Bruce, what is it?!” 

“…”

Steve, getting mad, stormed over towards Bruce to look at the image displayed on the monitor screen. His blood went cold.

“Is that… is that Skye?” In the picture, her face was pale and framed with blood. The brown eyes that he knew so well were cold and hard. 

“Do you need me to respond to that Steve?” 

He nodded.

“This is the report on Skye when she first joined SHIELD.” Steve glanced to the writing underneath the picture. 

First name: Skye  
Last name: Unknown  
Age: Unknown  
Threat level: high  
Notes: Hostile  
“Hostile?” He didn't know Skye that well, but he knew she wasn't hostile. “Does it say why she was marked hostile Bruce?”

“I can ask JARVIS to scan the SHIELD databases, but it’ll take a while.” 

“Ok. That’d be great.” His hand reached out to turn the door handle.

“Steve?”

“mhmm?”

 

“Are you going to tell Tony?”

“I don’t know.”

=

“But I’m not tired!” Skye protested as Bucky set her on the bed.

“Then why don’t we turn a movie on or something?”

“Can we watch Hercules?”

“Do you need to watch a movie about a God when you could just go downstairs and talk to Thor about his life story?”

“Buckkkyyyyyyyyyy” The once strong and undefeatable assassin gave in to his tiny soulmate and picked up the remote. Skye grinned. 

“On one condition.” He held the remote just out of her grasp. “You let me call Steve and have him come and watch with us.” She moaned. 

“But – “

“No buts! No Steve, no movie.” He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at her. She gave him her best doe eyes.

“Please?” she blinked at him, her long eye lashes distracting Bucky from his plan.

But only for a second.

“Nope.” He popped the p. 

“Pleeeeaaaaassseeeee?” 

“Skye, you know my answer.” 

“Butidontwanthiminhereidisappointedhimearlierhedoesntdeservetohavesomeoneasbrokenasme.” 

“What?” 

“I’m going to sleep.” 

“Ok…?” Buck took his leave, but he still had some questions.

“JARVIS can you take what Skye said earlier and slow it down?” He asked the AI, once he was out of earshot. 

“Yes, Mr. Barnes. I have the recording; do you want me to play it back?”

“That’d be great. Thanks.”

“At approximately 3:21 PM, Ms. Skye said, “But I don’t want him in here I disappointed him earlier he doesn’t deserve to have someone as broken as me” JARVIS recited, robotically. 

Bucky’s heart dropped. Skye was pushing him, pushing them, away because she thought they needed someone better. Didn’t she know that she needed someone better?  
His mind raced through what he should do – how he should respond, and realized the conversation Skye had been dreading was the only way to help her. He had to call Steve.

=

Steve really had no idea what he was doing. He was still grappling with his new knowledge regarding Skye, whilst also trying to find both her, and Bucky, whom had mysteriously missed his training session. They were probably together, he knew that, but he was waiting for someone’s call to let him know he was wanted there.  
He looked around the room he was in. Somehow, he had managed to travel from the science labs, on the 5th floor, to the kitchen, on the 9th floor. 

“Captain Rogers,” JARVIS’s voice made him jump, “Sergeant Barnes requested that you come back to your residence. He says it is about Ms. Skye, but wanted to clarify that it is not urgent.”

“Ok. Tell him I’ll be up in two minutes.”


	11. Deserving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve contemplates what to do about his soulmates, and Skye reveals something big.

It would be lying to say Steve didn't procrastinate going to see his soulmates. It would also be lying to say that knowing both of his soulmates were together, without him, didn't hurt. Even if he had expected it, it still hurt knowing he was right.

He took the stairs instead of the elevator to reach their apartment. Was he just delaying the inevitable? Yes, definitely, but he'd rather have that over the rejection of both Bucky and Skye. The thing was, even though he was seen as some American war hero, Steve was still the scared little kid from Brooklyn. No matter how hard he pretended, that's what he would always be.

So now, here he stood, outside of HIS apartment door, too scared to go in. Captain America wouldn't have hesitated to barge through the door and face whatever problem there was head-on, but at that moment, he wasn't Captain America. He was Steve Rogers. He wasn't the hero that his reputation bragged of, he was the sidekick.

Steve looked down at his feet, contemplating what to do. He could go inside, and face rejection from his soulmates or he could wait out in the hallway, and let his imagination tell him all the different ways they would end the relationship.

He ran his fingers through his hair, still thinking, when suddenly the door swung open, revealing Bucky on the other side.

"What the hell are you doing out there, Steve? I was just about to go look for you."  
"I just... I uhmmm..." He stuttered, failing to get the words out of his mouth.

Bucky ignored his excuse and pulled him inside. "We have a problem."

Steve looked up at him, knowing the rejection was coming.

"Skye doesn't think she deserves us. She said you're too good for her."

That was not what he was expecting.

Skye? Perfect, beautiful, enchanting Skye thought she wasn't good enough for him?

"What?!" Steve's voice grew louder with shock. "Why would she think that?!"

Bucky grabbed his arm tightly and put a finger to his lips. "She's sleeping!" He whispered.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from the doorway of their bedroom. "Not anymore, she's not."

His eyes flew to Skye's shadowed form slouched against the doorway, while Bucky cursed under his breath.

"Goddammit, Steve. I told you to keep your voice down!"

"Buck it's fine. Let him be." Skye stepped towards them, her form being lit up by the moonlight through the window.

She was wearing his shirt, though it fit her like a dress.

"I hope it's ok, the hospital gown was a little uncomfortable." Steve looked up to meet her eyes, realizing he was staring at the clothing.

"Doll, of course its ok." Its better than ok.

A pink blush colored her cheeks as she started to inch back towards the room. "I'll just let you be..."

"Skye, it's ok. Please, stay out here with us, we should talk." Bucky urged, motioning for her to come over.

She tiptoed around the edge of the room until she reached a barstool farthest from where they were standing. It was obvious to Steve that she was used to being punished after she made a mistake, and that that was why she had tried to protect herself from them.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, looking down at her feet.

"You have nothing to apologize for." Steve told her, Bucky nodding in agreement. He stalked over to her and pulled her small body into a hug, taking in the lavender smell of her hair. She was stiff for a moment, before relaxing in his embrace. 

"I understand if you don't want me anymore." She said after Steve had released her. He could see Bucky's jaw clench at her statement. 

"Skye, I'm saying this once and only once, so you'd better listen," Buck demanded, stepping towards her. He could see the fear in Skye's eyes but knew that Bucky was saying what had to be said. "We" Buck pointed to Steve and then back to himself, "Will ALWAYS want you. You can't do anything that will change that, I promise you." 

Her eyes lit up at Bucky's message. "I've just never really had a family before." 

"Well that's going to change, from now on, we're your family." Steve told her, "But in order to have a family, we have to agree to always tell the truth." 

Skye gulped, knowing what was coming next.

"Skye we need to talk about your SHIELD file." 

She sighed. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise me that you won't tell ANYONE this. Not even my dad." He and Bucky nodded, before motioning for Skye to sit on the couch.

"When I was 16, I didn't run away from my dad, I was taken. By the red room."  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! I know it's been a while, but I have returned! I got a new computer, so I'm hoping to post more frequently now! Also, I know I left this on a MAJOR cliffhanger, but I'm starting the next chapter right after this, so that should be up soon-ish.   
> -L


	12. Suspicion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The timeline jumps forward a couple months, and a member of the team grows suspicious...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the comics, Skye is born in 1988, but I totally feel like, for this fic, she was younger, so I'm gonna say she was born in 1992, which makes her 16 in 2008, and 21 when she joins Coulson's team, so at the time this chapter is set in, she's around 23

Steve and Bucky both froze in place when they heard those words leave her mouth, though for two different reasons. 

To Steve, it all made so much sense! Why she would never tell him about her history, why she had looked at Tony desperately before he had revealed that she left him at 16. 

But Bucky realized that she was just like him. He felt so stupid for not realizing it before. How she was constantly on edge, always watching her back. How she wore long pants to cover the scars on her legs. They were the same things he had gone through, but he had Steve. Skye had _no one_. 

 _No_ , he corrected himself,  _Skye has us now._

To them, that was all they needed to hear, but Skye had to get it all off of her chest. 

"They sent a note to me, saying that if I didn't turn myself over, they would kill everyone I loved. My dad, Pepper, Rhodey, Coulson." She took in a gasp of breath before continuing, while Steve and Bucky both unconsciously moved toward her. "I was with them for 5 years and 6 months before I escaped, and that's when SHIELD found me." Bucky reached to grab a tissue out of the box that sat behind Skye, before pulling it out and carefully wiping the tears off of her cheeks. 

Steve sat on her other side, running his fingers through his hair to try and grasp what she had told them. "But... but the red room was disbanded decades ago!" Steve reasoned. 

"That's what they wanted you all to think. That way you could never find out the truth and come to take away their soldiers." Skye told him, tears silently dripping onto her knees. Steve put his arm around her neck, pulling her into him and holding her small body close to his chest. Bucky scooted closer to his soulmates and added an arm to their pile of limbs. 

They stayed like that for a while, each person relishing the close contact and love they showed to each other. 

"What do we do now?" Skye murmured after a while. 

"We continue on with our lives. We start your power training with Bruce, and we keep this a secret for as long as we can, until it is absolutely necessary that the team knows, or until we find a way to tell them without you getting kicked out of the tower."

Skye let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding when Steve said they would keep her past a secret. She didn't know where she would go if she didn't have Steve or Bucky or her dad. 

===

***Months later because I'm bad at writing fluff***

It had been 6 months since Skye had told Bucky and Steve her secret, and life was good. 

She trained with Bruce every day from 11 to 4, went to the gym from 4 to 5, and spent the rest of the night and some hours of the morning with her soulmates. They had all become much closer in 6 months, and though some of it had been caused by their bond, most came from how much they told each other. 

She and her dad had also rebuilt their relationship, and there were times in which Skye was sure she was 14 again. They would pull all-nighters with bottles of Coca-Cola and bags of cool ranch Doritos, they would geek out about movies, and sometimes they even played Mariocart together. 

Everything seemed perfect. 

She should have known it wouldn't last. 

===

The day it all fell to pieces started off normally.

Skye woke up between her two soulmates, snuggled close to their warm bodies. She strained her neck to look over at the clock on Steve's bedside table, before realizing she had three hours before her training session with Bruce. Skye knew that her body wouldn't go back to sleep after being awake already, so she snuck out of bed and into the kitchen, preparing the ingredients for the breakfast in bed she had planned. Two hours later, after the eggs were scrambled, pancakes were cooked, bacon was sizzled, and orange juice was poured, she carefully set each plated portion on a wooden platter, and tiptoed back into their shared bedroom. 

She held the tray with one arm and used the other to turn on the light, knowing they both wouldn't wake up. She made her way over to the bed and sat down on the edge, poking both of them with her pointer finger before grinning as they both sat up. 

"What?" Bucky groaned, grabbing her hand and covering it with his. 

"I made you breakfast..." She held out a plate to him before poking Steve, who had fallen asleep again. 

"Come on sleepy head, you have an hour to eat before we have to get working." Steve sat upright again, softly smiling at her as he took the plate and glass of orange juice from her outstretched hand.

They sat there for 45 minutes, talking about their plans for the day, but Skye abruptly cut the conversation off as she once again glanced at the clock. 

"AH I have to get dressed for training!" She pulled her hand from Bucky's grasp as she all but sprinted over the dresser, pulling on a strappy grey tank top and black yoga pants.  

"Do you have to?" Steve protested, reaching for her.

"Yes, Steve. You know I do." She turned and walked through the door, before turning around and yelling back at them. "Bye! See you tonight! Love you both!" 

Steve and Bucky looked at each other and smiled. How did they get so blessed with such a perfect soulmate?

===

Natasha would be lying if she said she didn't like the Stark girl. She admired her spirit, and she was kind whenever they talked, but she gave off a weird feeling.

She hadn't seen the girl fight but was told she was extremely talented and rivaled even Natasha herself. That level of training was never provided by SHIELD. Agents were good, but they weren't _that_ good. This thought, coupled with her gut instinct, caused suspicion in the fiery-haired assassin. She had always wanted to check out the skill level of the girl, but Natasha was always away on missions and never had time. Today, however, was the exception. Today, Natasha would go watch the girl at the gym and see just how justified her suspicions were. 

Yes, she knew Tony would be mad that she was snooping on his daughter, but there was something going on that no one knew about, and she was determined to find out what it was. 

So, when 4 o'clock rolled around, Natasha made her way down to the gym and into a hidden corner, just as the Stark girl arrived. She spent twenty minutes on the treadmill, but it was the moves she used on the punching bag that startled Nat. 

Not because they were unexpected from a girl of her size, which they were, but because they were familiar. She hadn't seen those moves and combinations in decades.

The last time she saw them was in the Red Room.

That was impossible, though. The Red Room had been destroyed...

But what if it hadn't been. What if they had made it seem like it had to avert attention. 

 _That was it!_ Natasha realized. 

The Red Room hadn't been destroyed, it had started a new line of soldiers. 

And that line included Skye.

Only one thing was clear to her now.

She had to tell Tony.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! I told you I'd be back! I'm going on vacation next week though, so there won't be an update for a while, that's why this chapter is slightly longer than usual. You're welcome. If you want to see more of me though, I'm really active on Twitter and would LOVE to talk to any of y'all any time, so feel free to dm me. I MIGHT even reveal what I have planned for the plot.....  
> You can find my twitter page [HERE!](https://twitter.com/SergeantLiz)


	13. Hello?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, I know I'm INSANELY late, so sorry about that. BUT this is here now so.... yay? I have a butt ton of chapter ideas around like 15 or 16, so I just need to build the story up to that point. I swear I'll be back soon-ish!  
>  Thank you for all of your continued support!   
> (also, my friend Ashley helped me with the chapter for this because I was HELLA stuck, so ty Ashley uwu)  
> Warnings: swearing and slight angst :P

“Tony, Tony, TONY DON’T!” Natasha begged as she tried to hold back a very pissed off billionaire.

“LET ME GO NAT!” He roared, charging past her and running over to the door.

“JARVIS OPEN THE DOOR”

“Yes, Mr. Stark” The AI replied, as the noise of the doors parting granted Tony access to the rest of the building.

“Shit.” Nat murmured, watching as he sped through the doors and up the stairs. She knew Tony would have _some_ type of reaction when she told him, but hadn’t expected it to be this _big_.

\---

“On your left”

“Goddammit, Steve!” Skye moaned as the super soldier sprinted passed her.

“On your right”

“THAT’S IT IM DONE” She yelled in defeat, watching as both of her soulmates ran off without her.

_Note to self: stop running with Steve and Bucky._

Skye pulled out her phone, typing a quick message to Steve letting him know that she’d meet them back at the tower.

\--- 4 hours later ---

Skye was cuddled up to her soulmates watching Supernatural when the noise of a door crashing open caught their attention. She didn’t even have enough time to pause the show before Tony started screaming.

"HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME?!” He demanded, giving Skye a death stare.

Bucky growled and stood up in front of Skye defensively, Steve following him. “I strongly suggest you calm down, Tony.”

“IM NOT GOING TO FUCKING CALM DOWN MY DAUGHTER IS AN ASSASSIN AND I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW ABOUT IT!”

She held in a sob as she maneuvered between the couches and snuck out of the room. She knew Tony would kick her out at some point. It was bound to happen. Not even her own father could love her.

Her first thought was to run. She needed to leave the tower, leave the life that she had hoped was normal.

But she couldn’t.

She loved Steve and Bucky too much to do that.

_Holy shit she loved Steve and Bucky!_

Wiping the salty tears from her face, Skye rushed towards the stairway, figuring that she had about 5 minutes before they realized she was gone. Her feet carried her down the lit hallway, half blind, her vision covered by the tears and hair in her face. She stumbled through the floor with no sense of direction or time, her hands placed over her eyes to hide her tears.

_You should have left when you had the chance, this isn’t worth tears. You already knew you didn’t deserve this life,_ her brain whispered as she slumped down the wall, her eyes on the marble floor watching as her tears dropped onto the tile.

He hates me.

She was sure of it.

Skye took a deep breath, trying to gather herself, and stood up. She didn’t know where she was going, but she needed to get out of the tower, at least for a little.

“BANG!” Out of nowhere came a grate the size of her torso, falling onto the tile in front of her. Startled, she looked up to see the start of a purple, leather-clad leg poke out of the now uncovered ceiling vent. A tan man with a crew cut dropped in front of her, his back facing towards her. The purple leather of his suit was ripped, and his hair was covered in dirt and grime.

Upon instinct, Skye crouched into a fighting position, not knowing who this strange man, that had seemingly dropped from the ceiling, was. Her instincts kicked in, and she had to take action.

Skye kneed him in the stomach and brought her hand down on the back of his neck. He dropped to the floor and laid there, like a limp rag doll. She dusted her hands off as if to signify a job well done, then stepped over his seemingly lifeless body.

Suddenly, a hand shot up and jabbed at a pressure point in her leg and she let out a cry. Her body crumpled to the floor and landed on top of the assailant.

Skye groaned with displeasure, knowing that she must have accidentally hit him in the shoulder, not the neck.

_That could have been a fatal mistake,_ she fumed, rolling off the unknown man.

“You know, you could have just asked for my name before you whooped my ass.” the strange man grumbled as he rubbed his neck, a welt forming. Skye shot away from him, placing her back against the cool wall behind her. She closed her eyes, tears still streaming down her face, preparing for the worst.

Instead, she felt a hand come to rest on her shoulder. “Hey, you alright girlie?” A gruff voice called, as warmth washed over her.

She had just beat his ass, and he was asking _her_ if _she_ was alright?

Skye rubbed her eyes dry and blinked to focus on the man in front of her.

“Uh yeah, thanks” she murmured, taking in his full person. His eyes looked worn out as if he hadn’t slept in years. His body was covered in a purple and grey suit, looking as if at some point it had been made of leather, though now it was mostly made of rips. He looked sympathetically down at her and offered her a hand up.

“The name’s Clint.”


End file.
